“The Pardoner’s Tale” is a prime example of a priest who does not practice what he preaches. Throughout “The Pardoner’s Tale,” Chaucer supports the main theme of greed is the root of all evil through the use of literary elements such as irony, satire, and direct characterization. Chaucer uses direct characterization by having the Pardoner verbally admit that his sole purpose while he preaches is only “for greed of gain” (Chaucer 125). Throughout the prologue the Pardoner explains that he “[tells] a hundred lying mockeries” (Chaucer 124) in order to make his sermons interesting so that the people will pay more. The Pardoner depicts himself to be a greedy hypocrite when he states that he preaches against greed, yet “make[s] [a] living out of avarice” (Chaucer 125).…show more content… Chaucer uses satire when he notes that the pardoner is fully aware of his ability to “bring [his people] to repent,” (Chaucer 125) but instead choses not to by making “covetousness…both the root and stuff of all [he preaches]” (Chaucer 125). Although a priest is supposed to be holy, honest, loving, and caring, the Pardoner bluntly admits that his true intention is “not at all to castigate [his people’s] sins” (Chaucer 124), but to gain money out of it. In order to gain money, the Pardoner will “preach and beg from kirk to kirk” (Chaucer 125) and keep the money for himself. Then the Pardoner says that he would even go to the extent of taking food and money even “though it were given [to him] by the poorest lad” (Chaucer